Protective device.



E. E. F. CREIGHTON.

PROTECTIVE DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8. 191's.

Patented June 11, 1918.-

Q? Inventor: EirnerElFTCr 5 i'gdhton, His oqttornes.

g GOIIlPllSSS e inovehle OT. actuating the wipe:

ends oi Lie arcing i'nenihers camp or the sin to the portions ofmechenisin pivotelly connected to the switch r end carrying a holdingblock 0 h Steps 8 9 site provided between. l the block '3' is movehleend which t Vemeiit member The dctuetiiig inhei" 6 when moved to closethe switch c w ice the block 7 into engegeinent the stop 8 and tensionssapli g :iil which is es used at one end to the ch '3 The actuatingmember 6 end heiice the switch is locked in sw ch closing position, by elatch ccopeieti 1g with the ectuetmeinhei 6 end ehly 12 on the hitch 7.The o w ing mechemsm is thereby restrained in c ch closing position andbiased by the s 10 to move into switch opening position very quicidyWith d snap action. For moving latch ii to release the operatingmechanism, T provide at trip coil 13 operetii e to trip the latch withhammer blow automatically in l@- sponse to overload. e latch mey also hereleased will by means of the o erating rod "8D the le ch is released cmits engagement With the 12, th actuating member 6 moves With snapectio': the tensioii exerted by 9 i 19 to i switch very quickly incher 2from engagement engsgem with i and ca n ickly across the arcing poitionsof the horn members to transfer the to the eicin portion the actuating i6 being limited in its movement Toy gegeinent hloclt "5 with theSwitches oi the cheiecter which s? slly installed outdoors exposedv-Jeather, become inoperative accumulations of ice l tect switch undo;mount shove the fixed 3114.1 shove the pivots]. connection ectiiettingmember 6 to theswitch 2 protecting shields 01 umbrellas l5 andrespectively Which act to prevent the accumu- This device comprises twocooperating "llQ8lS end 18 "which we pi eiei j loceteth as shownimmediately shove Y movable switch inenihei 2, Each hem eiiiher is shownas consisting of e continucis conductor bent to form a configurationllLVlBg e pluielity of sides or legs 19 2O, 21 and 22 to form. 2, closedelectric circuit or loop. One group of sides 2i and are in one plsne endthe other group of sides 19 end A are 111 another plsne eh J. J3

e to the plsne oi sides 21 end 2%, as best h Wn igs. 2 and 3., ()nc sidct eech i il cely sides 19 cooperate to form (i1VGZglZRg SPQZk gap end 1understood tee uecesserily comprise four sides, the essentielconfiguration losing t -sh ped intent hers coci lSlZlg eh arcing horn orportion closed on itself such es sides 19 and 21 which are in e plane atan angle to the horizontal with means for completing e closed electriccircuit or loop including seid arcing horn or sides 19 Each hornincintheiehy broadly considered coin rises sl cing pot-tic 01 he 1closed on itself to foi'm eclosed ci cuited hiding. To enable the arc totravel quicly along the aiming portions or sides of t e horn or shortcircuited members I establish cl'y intense magnetic fields in edirection along seid s been comprising several ell horn gaps turns toincrease this magnetism but "with such it coiistzcuc .i :0. each of theturns is so from the cr l of tn the meg- 1 tie force applied to the iscompareli ely sinsll. To clots i the tremendously rapid action device,deny hundreds d even seveml thousand empeies of circulstf g current areneeded in the horn incinto form the ccetei to feed the vepoi:

Tn en ordinal-Ty llGI-Cli s1- ere from motel melts fer more HlQtPl thanis necessary to feed the etc and this hot motel helps to ..L feet thatits contact With the metal is being emetic fields along moved sorapidly, it impossible the entire length of the arc with "vapor andconsequently the arc is attenuate in cross section as it is drawn outand its resistance is thereby proportionally increased.

'llo distinguish from the ordinar r horn gap, it should be stated thatthe arc across an ordinary horn gap is not in general attenuated l isextinguished by some accidental inc ement oi the hot rising vapors whichthrow a sheet or" cold air through the arc stream. The are breaks acrossagain with the rise of current and voltage in the next half cycle or issuddenly extinguished from a comparatively high value of current. Inother words the attenuation is slight due to the feeding of the arcvapor through an al* most vertical chimney of arc vapor.

To produce a magnetic field of the character 1 describe I make each ofmy horn members 17 and 18 with their arcing portions or horns 19 toconstitute a closed electric loop or winding, each loop or circuit beinginductively related to a winding in an external circuit such as thecircuit through the s itch. This I accomplish by connecting each loopthrough one or more turns on sides 20, for instance, as the secondarycircuits of current transformers 23 and 24; having primary circuits 25and 26, The transformers 23 and 2% have their primaries 25 and 26,respectively, connected in the conductor 1 on each side of the switch.The current flowing through the conductor 1 when the switch is closed,flows through the transformer primaries 25 and 26 and induces currentsin their secondary circuits which comprise respectively the horn loopsor members 17 and 18. The heavy currents traversing each of the hornineinbers'l? and 18 set up strong electromagnetic fields which are in adirection to cause the arc, entering the ields to travel along theincline of the arcing por tions or sides 19 with great rapidity. So testdoes the arc travel along the horns and become attenuated that the bodythe are between the two horn members l7 and 18 does not have time torise appreciably, the path or the are being usually an inverted arch inshape. Due to the fact that the magnetic field is stronger within theinclosure formed by the sides of each horn member and as the are ismoved so rapidly, the arc takes place substantially parallel to thearcing portions 19, the stronger field in the center of the horninclosures tending to move the arc in that direction.

The are is attenuated and extinguished in a few thousandths of a secondand with such rapidity, due to the intense magnetic field produced alongthe arcing portions of the horn members, that the arc has no opportunityto bow out and be blown into adjacent To prevent the are from, under anyunusual ciriunstances, rising and arcing on sides 21 and 22, the sidesof the horn members are located away from the arcing portions 19 and notvertically over the sides 19 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The attenuation of the arc causes inherent r sistance to automaticallyincrease so that as the arc is extinguished its resistance is suliicientto prevent the formation of dangerous surges, as the extinguishi forceon the arc is always automatically about proportional to the valuecurrent in the arc. When the arc is short, the force is great and whenthe arc is long and liable to be accidentally extinguished the force isless, that is, it is proportional to the severity of the are but doesnot tend to suddenly extinguish the are from a high value of current andthereby cause a dangerous rise of potential. I thus utilize the inherentresistance of the arc itself caused by its attenuation to prevent surgeconditions with out the use of any external resistance in series.

In cases where a weaker current is circulated in the horn loops ormembers, prefer to add, as a precautionary measure to prevent the arcsfrom being blown into adja cent phases, are resisting means such asmetal plates or grids 2? along the arcing portions of the horn membersas shown, for instance, on horn member 18 in Fig. 1. These plates have acentral opening 28 through which the horns 19 pass with clearance, whichopenings insulate the plates from the horns 19. A plurality of thesegrids are located along each born 1% and are spaced apart and parallelto each other, each plate or grid being mounted at an angle to the ofthe horns 19 to form constricted arc coolii chutes. The are as it ismoved up the arcing portions 19 passes through the openings 28 betweenthe plates 27 and horns. Should the are, for any reason, bow outward, itengages plates :9? forms a plurality of arcs in series which act toquickly extinguish the are by further attenuating it, the plates, at thesame time, acting to cool the arc and prevent it from rising outside theplates and engaging adjacent phases. Instead of plates 1 may use, asbest shown in Fig. 5, a member 28 surrounding the arcing portion 19 ofone or both horn members, which member may be of any shape but ispreferably tubular in form. v

It may often be desirable that the current transformers 23 and 24 benormally inoperative and not consuming current while the switch isclosed. In Fig. 4 I have shown a modified form of switch in which themovable switch member 2 carries contacts 29 and 30 adapted to cooperatewith contacts Cit 3i and 32 respectively, to close a shunt circuit aboutthe primary 25 of current transformer 23. These cooperating contacts 29,31, and 30, 32, are arranged to separate on the initial opening movementoi the switch member 2 to open the shunt circuit about the primary 25 aninstant before the switch member breaks engagement with fired contaste3, so that the transformer 23 is rendered operative to produce a densefield around the horn member 17 as the switch opens. in like manner, Iprovide contacts 33 and "3% carried by a member 35 which pivotallysupported on the actuating memher 6 and arranged when the switch opensto be likewise moved to break en agement with cooperating contacts 86and 3?, respectively, to open the shunt circuit about the primary 26 oftransformer 2d. The opening of the shunt circuits about bothtransformers 23 and 2% takes places simultaneously to produce a strongmagnetic field in both horn members 17 and 18 as the switch opens Theoperation of member 35 does not attract the circuit through the switchas l provide a flexible connection or conductor 38 be tween the switchand transformer it is understood that my novel are ertin guishing orattenuating device is not re stricted in its use to extlnguishing arcsproduced by the opening of an electric switch but may be used by itselfas an exceedingly quick acting horn gap lightning arrester, the areoccurring between the horn members it and 18 being quickly extinguishedin the manner already described. it will also be understood both thearcing portions of the horn members 17 and i8 constituting my arcextinguishing device may not be portions or closed electrical circuitsor loops but one may be a part or such a circuit and the cooperatingarcing portion may be a horn of ordinary type.

My invention may be embodied in other forms than that shown anddescribed and therefore do not wish to be restricted to the preciseconstruction shown but intend to cover by the appended'claims allchanges and modifications which are within the scope of my invention andwill be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. The combination with an electric switch, of arc extinguishing meanscomprising cooperating members having portions coijpcrating to form ahorn gap and adapted to take the arc. as said switch opens,'saidcotiperating members constituting closed electric circuits, and meansinductively re-- lated to each of said closed electric circuits forinducing therein heavy electric currents in a direction to cause anintense magnetic field along the portions constituting said to traversesaid closed circuited members and produce an intense magnetic fieldalong said horns in such a direction that the arc travels with greatrapidity along said horns and is quickly attenuated.

3. The combination with an electric switch, of an arc extinguishingdevice comprising two coiiperating members each forming a conductingloop having a plurality o sides, one side of one loop cobpen ating witha corresponding side of the other loop to term arcing portions oil ahorn gap, an electrical winding on each side of said switch in thecircuit oi. said switch cooperating with the loops constituting saidarcportions to form transformers, the windings of said transformershaving such a relation that the current traversing said loops producesan intense magnetic field along said arcing portions acting to move saidare rapidly along said portions to attenuate, it.

i. The combination with a movable switch member, of means forextinguishing the are as said switch member opens comprising two closedcircuited members having coclperating diverging portions adapted to forma spark gap, means for positively carrying the arc formed as said switchopens to said diverging portions of said closed circuitedmembers, meansresponsive to the current through the switch for inducing a heavycurrent in each of said closed circuited members in a direction suchthat an intense magnetic field is produced along said diverging portionsand within the inclosure or said closed circuited members to cause thearc across said gap to travel rapidly along said diverging portions andsubstantially parallel to said portions.

5. The combination with a movable switch member, of a horn gap devicecomprising two closed circuited conducting members provided withportions cotiperating to form a horn gap, transformers having primarywindings connected in the circuit through said switch member, saidclosed circuited members forming the secondaries of said transformersand traversed by a heavy induced current whereby an intense magneticfield is produced along said portions thereofforming said horn gap,means 'operatively related to said switch member Ill Mill

lid

zi eee oso for short cii'cuitiug the primaries of said trsnsformerswhilesaid switch member is closed end for opening said short circuits priorto the opening of said switch member 6., The combination with a movableswitch member, of ore extinguishing means coEipei-"sting therewithcomprising two short circuited membe having portions coopec to form ahorn gap, means responsive to the current thzcugh the switch forinducing a heavy current in said short Cil= cuited members in directionto cause insgne ic field set up on said portions forming be born gap torapidly sttentuate the are, and as member carried by said switch memberscooper-sting with arcin c extinguishing device ccmpris" "3" 2211co'zipeceti members having ZOUT'iIiOHS ther sdeoted to receive an arcand cooperating form horn gap, each of said cooperate g members forming3, closed electric circuit inductively related to an external circuitwhereby magnetic field setup by the curren nduced in said cooperatingmembers to move the are along the are ing portions of said membeirs withrapidity. o a

9. An are extinguishing device comprising cooperating members heviugportions thereof adopted to receive an arc and cooperating I to form ahorn gap cooperating portions I c-i producing in each of said members itclosed electrical loop, means responsive to the cur rent through theswitch 01 inducing cur rents in loops comprising said cooperate ingmemoei's in c direction to cause the magnetic fields around the arcingportions of said cooperatin members to be of an intensity to rapid ymove the etc along said povtions and attenuate it.

10. Au extinguishing means comprising cooperating members eachconstituting a closed electrical circuit and having arcing portionsthereof coopersting to form. a horn ggap, transformers having primanesconnected in an external circuit, said cooperate ing members forming thesecondaries of said, transformers and arranged to produce a magneticfieid along the arcing portlons mcticeii thereof in a direction. and ofan intensity to cause the arc to be attenuated with great rapidity;

11, Au ere extinguishing means compris= ing a horn gap device each hornbeing closed on itself to form a closed circuited Winding cooperatingwindings in inductive relation to said closed circuited windings andadapt ed to csuse heavy induced currents to traverse said closedcircuited windings to produce an intense magnetic along each horn in edicection to rapidly attenuate the arc and thereby automaticallyincrease its ini'iei'ent resistance wh eby the are is extinguish"quickly Without ducing detrimental surges ere extinguishing devicecompiis cooperating arci members eech consisting o; e continuocs conductc bent to form coufiguretion having a, p lity of sides, one side of eachmember cooperating form 22 diverging spark gap, moons for inducing atcurrent sai continuous con-- ductors to produce magnetic ficid alongsides oi'ming seid spark having on into; end a t between said members tobe moved uickly along s and rapidly sittenu i3, "cc attenuating devicecompris ing nductors fo using c d loop members o a config seti havinglurelity of Si'LiES one side of each. operating "form s horn. gap,inductively to: each member for cousing a current to flow bilfmlgh saidclosed loop members to produce magnetic field along said sidesconstituting said horn gap such that on ere ecross said horn gap israpidly drawn out c direction substantially pessilel to said sides andottenusted whereby the attenuation of the eutoincreases its resistanceuntil it is extinguished.

14. etc attenu ting device comprising coiioereting hoi :1 membersadapted to form s horn gap, each of said horn member-s consisting of aconductor bent to form a closed eiect'ricel circuit, means inductivelyrelated each horn member for causing a heavy current to pass through theclosed electrical circuits of said members such that the intensemagnetic field produced by said horn members acts to so quickly lengthenthe are that it is rapidly attenuated and. extinguished without settingup detrimental surges.

15. A, protective device comprising two substantially V-shaped membersspaced apart and having their sides in a plane at an angle to thehorizontal, one side of each member being on arcing portion and cosection to cause on are moons cooperating with sai V-shaped memhers toproduce closed circuited "windings including said members, inductivemeans causing a heavy induced current to llovv in said closed circuitedwindings to produce an intense magnetic field in a direction to rap idlyattenuate the arc, whereby the resistance to the flow of current throughthe arc is rapidly increased. until the are is extinguishedo 16. Aprotective device comprising cooperating" arcing members each formed ofa conductor bent in configuration having a plurality of sldes, onegroupof sides in a plane at an angle to the plane of the first group ofsides, said plurality of sides losing arranged to form a closedcircuited second ary oi transformer, one side of each member forming anarcing horn, each arc ing horn heing traversed by the current in saidclosed circuit secondary to produce an intense magnetic field in adirection to tenuate the are occurring across said home with greatrapidity,

l7. An arc extinguishing means compris- Zing two short circuitedinernhers provided with sides cooperating to form a sparlr sap,"windings i inductive relation to said snort circuited noeinhers and soranged tha the currents induced in said closed cited niemloers intensemagnetic fields along said sides constituti gap in a d ection to ii igreat rapi ii'ty'. orotective device comprising ingr horns 'Eorining ahorn gap, nieans whereby said horns are each adapted form a portion of aclosed electrical loop, means in induc ive relation to each loop for. acurrent to traverse each loop and set magnetic iield on each horn, thecurrents in each loop heing so the mag netic fi ld along each horn is ina c iect. to cause the arc to be rapidly said he is ted,

l lice comprising two coop formed a continu ous conductor roeniloer havng sides, tvvo of said sides being i one plane and the other tivo sidesbeing a plane at an angle to the plane of t two sides, one side of eachineinher cooperati to form. horn gap, transrorrners having said foursided members as secondary "Windugs and with primary windings in anexternal circuit.

2%. An arc extinguishing device compris ing cooperating members adaptedi orrn closed electrical circuit and provided with arcing portionscooperating to form a horn gap, transformers having said cooperating;members as short circuited secondary circu ts whereby a heavy current"flows along said arcing portions and magnetic fields are produced whichmove the arc along said portions with rapidity to attenuate and finallyextinguish the arc.

2i. in are attenuating device comprising coiiperating members providedwith horns adapted to form a horn gap, nienihers forming closed electriccircuits, a plurality of plates mounted on said horns and provided withopenings through Which said horns pass, means inductively related toeach of said closed circuits for inducing therein heavy electriccurrents forming mag netic iields along said (T311153 in a direction torapidly attenuate the arc loy drawing along said horns through theopenings in said plates,

22. An arc extinguishing device conipris ing an arcing horn, said hornco prising a conductor hent to form a closed lectric cir cuit, meansinductively to said closed electric circuit for heavy induced current tolovv in sank arcing" horn, and a second horn cooperating to form a horn23, An are extinguishing device compris a member constitutino" an horn,said horn forming p t cia closed circuited secondary of a "onner, arcingplates mounted along said and spaced apart to form con ricteo hutes,said are with horn passes with clean a cooperating to fence horn paw area nieinher focircuit and provided W in an arcing portion, said nieniherio the secondary circuit of a trans lcrnic: v herehy y" in ducedcurrents cause flow in said horn member, an crating arcii horn formingWit-n er portion of said r horn ii g device cor pris ng a closed r mefidll l afiltr ers spacer; part 25. device comp closed c providedopera/tin i sparli: means induc ively related to closed cir cuitedineinhers cans a heavy to traverse said closed circnited nienih and formdense fields along arcing portions in rectic-n to attenuate the are, reresiscir nicans surround ing one or O p with a circuit 26. lo conihindevice, means ior extinguishing the learned as device operates, comprisecooperative members portions adapted to receive arc shaped to attenuatethe same, andineans inductively related to said roemher for setting upmagnetic fields along the portions of said members in a direction toattenuate the are with rapidity.

pcations co 27. In combination with a circuit opening device, arcinghorns cooperating with said device to take the are formed as said deviceoperates, and means for settin up magnetic fields along said arcing ornsin a direction to move the arc upwardly along said horns with greatrapidity.

28. An arc extinguishing device comprising cooperative members spacedapart to form a horn gap, and means for causing magnetic fields to existalong said horn members in a direction to attenuate the arc with greatrapidity.

ELMER E. F. OREIGHTON.

